Time?

For Thursday, June 18, 2026:

Colossians 1:26 NLT, Paul speaking: “The Good News message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.”

What time is it? We only think we know! Until our planet started spinning, there was no definition of a day. Until the earth began its orbit around the sun, we had no concept of a year. Jews started counting time from Adam. It’s now year 5786, which ends mid-September.

Christians count time from the birth of Jesus, AD = “In the Year of Our Lord.” Pope Gregory standardized this in 1582, authorizing leap years. You see, a year is actually 365.2422 days, so the system is still not perfect, but close enough for my lifetime.

Therefore, the Good News message of God’s love and forgiveness was hidden for 3760 years until Jesus’ birth. Mankind lived under the Old Covenant with rules and laws. With Jesus came mercy, forgiveness and absolution. Jesus not only forgives our sins, but removes them from our permanent record. It’s as if we had never sinned! That’s the free gift for those who call Jesus Savior and Redeemer! Being perceived as sinless (forgiven), we’re eligible for permanent residence in God’s eternal Kingdom. We have assurance of salvation!

That’s why today is the best day to lock in your commitment to Jesus. There are eternal ramifications from this decision, for both you and your friends. Your coworkers and extended family need to know the Good News too. Pray to become the hands and feet of Jesus, telling everyone the Good News of eternal salvation! Blessings!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Family Biz!

For Thursday, June 11, 2026:

John 15:23 NLT, Jesus speaking: “Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.”

This spiritual battle with the world is family business. Jesus defends Father God just as God keeps a heavenly hand on his Son. They’re inseparable. They’re family!

Believers are included in that Holy Family. John wrote, “To all who believed Jesus and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” And Jesus taught us to pray to “our Father in heaven.”

We should not be passive in defending our Holy Family. Active participants get a lot more done! We can testify about the goodness of the Father and his Son. We can advocate for God’s Laws as a better way to live. We can (gently) identify false religions as such, explaining how they’re off track.

All the work required for our eternal salvation was done by Jesus on the cross. Salvation came to mankind as a free gift courtesy of the Most High. This Assurance of Salvation is a major plank in the Christian platform. No other religion has this! Proudly tell others!

Our extended family is incredibly large, and yet there’s always room for a few more. People often arrive at churches when they’re down and out. Our love, kindness and sharing are some of the factors that draw people in. There is therefore agreement that Christians are a good family, a good way to live. People like what they see, and want to become a part of it.

Earthly families can have multiple children, just as our heavenly family always has room for one more. Have you been instrumental in adding anyone to our family? I hope so!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Teaching Truth!

For Sunday, April 19, 2026:

Luke 4:14-15 NLT: “Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”

Jerusalem to Galilee is about 80 miles. In Jesus’ day, most people were on foot, so it was about a week-long hike. Depending upon the route, you might encounter mountains, have to cross a river or deal with unclean Samaritans. So many went to the Mediterranean and just proceeded North up the coast.

The region around the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus grew up, specifically the city of Nazareth. At the time, little is known about him other than that he’s Joseph the builder’s son. But immediately, he begins teaching in the Synagogues. The congregants are amazed by his knowledge and wisdom.

I like that my Bible calls this “teaching.” Personally, I’m better at teaching than preaching. I believe that if I teach the truth from the Bible, what someone should do becomes self-evident. I don’t like to harp at them. My 2¢.

This is Sunday morning, a good time to attend church. Hopefully, your church will teach truthful topics from the Bible. They should teach eternal salvation through the goodness of Jesus the Christ, fulfilling his Father’s plan for the rescue of mankind. It’s a good plan. We should leave with smiles on our faces!

Have a blessed day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

One God!

For Saturday, March 7, 2026:

John 14:7 NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three forms of the same God. Think of it like this. We turn on our tap and get water, good for cooking, drinking and washing. In the freezer, it’s known as ice, good for cooling beverages. We might say that a summer day feels humid, and that’s a surplus of water vapor in the air. It’s all still water, H₂O.

As I compose these daily messages, I often mix up our God labels. Jesus may have said it, but I might call it a command of God. Or the other way, Jesus tells us to do something and research shows us that the words originally came from the Father. I usually catch myself and straighten it out, but the truth is I don’t believe it really matters. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all of one mind, with the same goals, pulling in the same direction. They will never contradict one another. So there really is only one God.

Prophesy told the Jews to expect a Messiah to rescue them, they believed from Roman oppression. God indeed sent Jesus, the Messiah, but to rescue them from their sin burden, not the Romans. Jesus was sent to love and forgive. In this case, the desire of the God “team” is to return more souls to God’s eternal heavenly Kingdom. Jesus is the one who puts the plan in motion. On the cross, the sins of the world are heaped upon him, and as he dies a human death, he takes those sins to the place of the dead and leaves them there. Now repentant humans can be forgiven, be made suitable for residence in the eternal Kingdom.

If we repent of our sins and claim Jesus as our hope and salvation, we will be forgiven. We will get to see heaven from the inside. Friends, that’s assurance of salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Grace = Free Gift!

For Sunday, February 8, 2026:

Hebrews 13:9b NLT: “Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.”

The Old Testament contains some dietary instructions. Certain animals can transmit various diseases, and God, who always looks out for us, wanted us to remain alive and healthy. But our meat-packing and inspection methods have so much improved that those kinds of diseases have long since vanished. And friends, dietary choice is not a redeeming ordinance. You’re not disqualified from heaven for eating a pig! That would imply that we could earn our way into heaven by doing something or not doing something, and that’s simply not true.

Our hope for our eternal future is God’s grace. It’s a gift. All we need to do is accept it. Our faith in forgiveness, Jesus taking away our sins, is our ticket to the hereafter. We are saved by grace through faith, not by obeying rules. But having said that, Christians strive to conform to God’s rules out of gratitude for all that Jesus did for us!

Salvation is God’s gift to those who place their faith, hope and trust in his Son!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

1-on-1 with Jesus!

 For Friday, February 6, 2026:

Luke 3:8 NLT, John the Baptist speaking: Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.”

 How you live and what you do will be signs that you have discarded your sinful ways and repented and returned to the Lord. God has stretched out the hand of forgiveness. All we have to do is grab on and decide that God’s way is the better way.

 People tend to make excuses for not doing the right things. In those days before Jesus, the excuses ranged from, “I was born Hebrew,” to “I’m in the Synagogue every Sabbath.” Those are good things, but they won’t open heaven’s gates. Salvation is a contract between you and God. It’s dependent on your heartfelt belief, your faith in the Father and his Son. We are saved by grace through faith.

 When evangelizing, people tell me, “When I was young, I went to Sunday School; My mom was a Baptist; My wife attends a church; and We’re pledging members.” All good things, but they won’t get you into heaven. Assurance of Salvation is a 1-on-1 deal with Jesus, putting your faith, hope and trust in God’s Son.

 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” The way to heavenly eternity, and everything he speaks is truth about the life after this life. “No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship
The Father’s House
Truth and Freedom Church

Goodbye Law!

For Friday, January 30, 2026:

Romans 6:15 NLT: “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!”

The Law enters people into a contest. Can we do enough good to outweigh the bad? Can we do enough good to qualify for heaven? Christianity doesn’t work like that. We are no longer under the Law.

Believers are living under grace. Our salvation is God’s free gift to us. His desire is to include us in his eternal heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, if we confess our wrongdoings and declare allegiance to the Son who took away our sin, we will be fully forgiven. Heaven won’t be filled with perfect people. Heaven will be filled with forgiven people. “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” God’s love and grace bring us home. Jesus said so!

I work with church musicians, and our goal is to bring our best to the Lord and the other believers. Mistakes will happen from time to time, but if everyone is doing their best, I can’t complain. I encourage grace for one another, and forgiveness. That’s what Jesus would do! God wants our love and offers us grace, undeserved favor, and forgiveness.

Pray and thank God for his grace and forgiveness, and always do your best for the Lord!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Miraculous Signs!

For Sunday, January 25, 2026:

Mark 16:17a,18 NLT, Jesus speaking: “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

These are some of Jesus’ last words, his final instructions before ascending back to the Father. He first gave us our “Priesthood of all believers” doctrine, saying, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” This isn’t optional. Every Christian is to help make new Christians. Each of us will have a different portion of that task using our God-given gifts and talents. But encouraging others in their faith should be top-of-mind for all of us.

You should be aware that there’s a supernatural spirit-world operating alongside life on Earth as we know it. A lot of it is not good. Satan and his demons reside in the spirit dimension. Our goal is to settle in the Father’s heavenly Kingdom. Satan’s goal is to derail us, to keep our souls for himself. Obviously, God’s way is the better choice.

Jesus doesn’t throw us to the wolves. He leaves believers with his power and authority to deal with evil. We can bring back to life the victims of premature death. We can lay hands on our fellows and, in Jesus’ name, cure any sickness or disease. We can cast out demons, the source of much of the world’s trouble. Cast out the demons first, because they might be the root cause of the illnesses. That’s what Jesus did!

We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is the cornerstone of our salvation. Take a high view of the Bible. Every God-inspired word is truth, and every incident happened just the way the Bible says. Pray, do things in Jesus’ name, and repent of nonconforming scenarios. Know that this life is temporary, and have confidence that Jesus is preparing an eternal place for you. If you’re with Jesus, life couldn’t be better!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Rumors of Wars!

For Friday, January 16, 2026:

Matthew 24:6 NLT: Jesus speaking: “You will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

Jesus is teaching about warning signs, signs that the end times is drawing near. One of those signs is wars and rumors of war. Rumors would be threats from one nation to another before actual fighting takes place. No war seems to start without some words being thrown first.

Some wars are new; some have been going on for thousands of years. Palestine has been upset ever since God settled Jews in the Promised Land. That’s a long time!

More recently, last week, the US took over Venezuela. It wasn’t exactly a war. Venezuela was so disorganized under a corrupt leader that fighting back wasn’t an option, and many in the country welcomed the intervention. Nonetheless, their president was deposed, and the US president is now setting policy for that country.

Afghanistan and Pakistan can’t agree on the border between their two countries. Russia is still trying to annex Ukraine. At least eight countries are undergoing civil wars, unable to agree on a government within their own country. The US did that in the 1860’s. Other governments are threatened by gangs and terrorists, mostly involving drugs. Illegal drugs represent a lot of money, and to find the source of the conflict, just follow the money! By the way, illegal drugs are only valuable because there’s a huge market for them. That’s our country’s problem!

Note that Jesus doesn’t say that these wars are the end. “The end won’t follow immediately.” But each war is a step closer to the end. These are times to lock in our commitment to Jesus and to God’s way. As God reveals the New Heaven and the New Earth, believer’s salvation will also be revealed. If we stick with Jesus, we’ll be given a ticket for eternal life in God’s forever heavenly Kingdom.

All aboard!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Jesus' Heavenly Plan!

January 5, 2026, Monday Message:

John 16:1 NLT, Jesus speaking: “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.”

The New Covenant gives us God on speed-dial. Direct access! Under the Old Covenant, the general public didn’t know a lot about God. They only knew theology the priests chose to teach. God bless the priests, but some would repeat rumors, theories and traditions. They were no longer speaking for the Lord. They were no longer speaking truth!

Christians have been given Assurance of Salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Grace means that our salvation is a free, undeserved gift from above. Our faith is in Jesus, believing he is who he said he was, and that he can do what he said he can do. Jesus’ primary mission in coming to earth was the rescue of mankind, reconciling our relationship with the Father, and believers put their faith in Jesus’ promise.

So believers’ assurance comes not from any priest or rabbi. Our assurance is not from any church, denomination, synagogue or temple. Our salvation deal is authored and guaranteed by Jesus, God’s own Son. Bypass any middlemen. Lock in your eternal destination today. At the pearly gates, Jesus said we should use his name!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Raised from the Dead!

For Sunday, January 4, 2026:

Romans 6:4b NLT: “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

Believers are inextricably linked with Jesus the Christ, although His way is a path from which we should not want to escape. In fact, we should think of a link with Jesus as a gift. If we aren’t connected with Jesus, we’d have no chance at the glorious life after this life that awaits believers. If we are sincere believers, total forgiveness and salvation reserve our place in the hereafter.

And friends, isn’t that all we really want, to live in God’s eternal kingdom? Only good people will be there, those who are radically transformed by the redeeming nature of Christ Almighty. The forgiven will be our neighbors. We may be surprised at how nice everyone is! In Heaven, it will be like everyone is on their best behavior. If God – Father, Son or Holy Spirit – asks us to help out with something, we won’t hesitate. We would be honored to be invited to participate on the winning team!

Jesus rose from the dead in three days, fully restored and still eager to serve God the Father. Even though the sin of the world was heaped upon him as he died on the cross, he took that burden to the place of the dead and left it there. He was given a second chance to change the minds of those who watched him die three days ago, and now see him dancing a jig on the grave of sin. Someone brought back to life should turn heads!

Like Jesus, mankind was burdened with sin, but believers have born again, given a second chance to get things right. When you get to the pearly gates, confidently tell the gatekeeper that you’re with the guy seated just to the right of God. That’s His Son, Jesus! He’ll welcome you with open arms!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Jesus, our Mediator!

For Friday, January 2, 2025:

Hebrews 12:24 NLT: “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.”

God made two sets of rules for mankind, the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ Covenants. The ‘New’ Covenant, by definition, was an update, a revision to the old rules.

God’s desire is that none would perish and that all would repent and return to the Father. For this to happen, God revised his expectations for mankind. Humans would never achieve perfection, sinlessness, but could be forgiven. Jesus was put in charge of that. From the cross, he took the sins of the world to the place of the dead, leaving believers suitable to take up permanent residence in God’s presence.

We come to the Father, to his heavenly place, through his Son, the source of forgiveness, the author of salvation. Jesus qualifies us under the ‘New’ Covenant, freely sharing it with repentant believers. God has exchanged vengeance and anger for forgiveness and mercy. God decided that things would be better this way. He’s glad to see us again!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Happy New Year!

For Thursday, January 1, 2026:

Luke 2:7 NLT: “Mary gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”

I’ll go out on a limb and say that Jesus’ arrival was the most important event to happen on earth – EVER! Prophets had been expecting a Messiah, and Jesus was “it!” By forgiving sins and thereby securing believers’ eternal destination, the arrival of Jesus affected countless people. Millions were rescued from Satan. There are currently 2.6 billion Christian believers, the largest religion in the world, and about 1/3 of the earth’s population. All this from a baby born over 2k years ago!

The birth of Jesus inspired the world to adjust their calendars. Jesus’ arrival would be year zero. Pope Gregory started counting forward from the birth of our Savior. It’s currently 2026 years later. Happy New Year! These years are known as AD, Anno Domini in Latin, which means "in the year of the Lord.” Past events count backwards from Jesus’ birthday, like negative numbers, abbreviated as BC or Before Christ.

There has been a trend in non-believing scientific groups to call our current years CE or Current Era. Before Jesus, the dates are BCE, Before Current Era. These titles were made up just so that non-believers could deny the importance of Jesus. But the dividing line of “eras” is still His birth. Each time you write 2026 on a check or on an important document, you’re acknowledging Jesus coming to earth to redeem mankind. It’s real; it actually happened.

The Bible is truth! Jesus is salvation!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Change!

December 29, 2025, Monday Message:

Romans 6:1 NLT: “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!”

A change of heart on our part would be evidence of our gratitude for God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation. The Lord’s efforts are effective and efficient. He doesn’t seem to waste his time doing needless stuff. So God planned to rescue those who need rescuing. (Friends, that’s all of us!) A Savior wouldn’t have been sent unless people needed saving.

Being born again implies a second chance to get things right, to prioritize the Lord in our lives. We should learn from our past mistakes. The Bible word translated ‘repent’ means to change, like a change of direction. “We were going north, but God showed us that we should have been traveling south!” Radical transformation should be the result of God’s gift, God’s grace. Continued sinning should be out of the question.

God’s gift should bring about positive change!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church

Name of Jesus!

For Sunday, December 21, 2025:

Luke 2:21 NLT: “Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.”

Translated into the English language as “Jesus,” the name was originally “Yeshua” which means "Yahweh is salvation" or “God is salvation.” Angels are obedient, messengers sent by God himself. (Any who aren’t obedient don’t last long!) So Gabriel was just repeating the Lord’s instructions. God is sending His Son, confirming His intention to rescue mankind, to grant us salvation. God loves us, and his intention is that all would repent and return. God, who is omniscient, knew that Jesus would be persecuted and eventually crucified. The sins of the world would be placed on an otherwise sinless Jesus, who would leave our sins in the place of the dead. Forgiveness would be an important part of mankind’s restoration and our reconciliation with Heaven. So it appears that God, with his infinite wisdom, had this all planned out well in advance of its implementation.

Our Holy Family, Mary, Joseph and now their baby, consisted of loyal, obedient Jews. So eight days after Jesus’ birth, they found themselves in a Synagogue, in front of a Rabbi, to offer thank-you sacrifices for a successful childbirth and a healthy baby boy. Firstborn males were always dedicated to the Lord. While I’m not sure they understood the significance of all these events, I’m pretty sure they knew this baby was special. Mary was mentally piecing this puzzle together and kept these godly things in her heart.

As believers nowadays, we get more than glimpses of a scenario in motion. With our Bibles, we can read the “Jesus story” all the way to its conclusion. We know that, in the end, God wins, and we are the beneficiaries of His grace. Believers will be adopted into Jesus’ Holy Family, and have the right to call God, “Our Father!”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church